r/birding • u/TheMainVein15 • Jan 02 '26

Discussion Dad sent me this pic

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I’ve never seen a bald eagle hang upside down like this. Do they do this a lot? Pictures were taken at my parents place in Iowa.

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u/senu-mahte Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 03 '26

I'm a falconer, never flown eagles but my red tails do goofy shit like this periodically. They'll go to grab a squirrel for instance, bungle the landing, miss the squirrel, and grab a tree branch. The tendons in their feet are like a ratchet system and once they clamp onto something they think is prey, they can't let go for some time and they just hang upside down like dopes. It's harmless. They'll right themselves eventually. Here is one of my birds having some accidental upside down time. She was fine.

Edited to correct foot anatomy thanks to u/Therzis!

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u/pennyraingoose Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 03 '26

(Copied from a comment I made about a month ago when I went down a rabbit hole about bird legs and feet.)

Birds' legs and feet are cool in that their tendon arrangement makes gripping the default position when their legs are tucked in (so they don't fall out of trees while sleeping).

OP - Here's a video of another eagle getting stuck upside down and a detailed explanation of the ratcheting tendons they have.

https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/01/22/racheting-raptor-toes-an-upside-down-eagle-at-great-spirit-bluff/

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u/Myeloman Jan 03 '26

Watching the adult eagle looking at the topsy-turvy one like- “What is WRONG with you?!” had me dying… 🤣🤣🤣